Dogs

     There are a handful of dog, or puppy as the girls always say, stuffed animals in the house right now. They are on loan from GG but I fear the day she takes them back. These guys, which carry names from pets we had in the home I grew up in, have become pretty consistent companions and playmates for the girls. They don't always get called by the names GG gave them, sometimes being referred to as "Hooney" and "Booney" or other times as "Mommy" and "Daddy Puppy." They get roped into all sorts of play or sometimes just get to be a nap buddy. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard the phrase "where's my puppy."
     Its crazy, the attachments children can build with things like this. Whether it is a stuffed animal or a blanket or a plastic toy, these girls seem to really connect emotionally to some of their things. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering my childhood blanket and favorite bear are both still under my roof. To add to the attachment part, I'm still a little weary of letting the girls play with the latter unsupervised.

Friday Afternoon

This is what olivia came home to in the playroom.The girls had a blast doing this, literally laughing hysterically the whole time and gathering every stuffed animal they could find. Good times.

Hand Me Downs

There are many memories I have held onto from childhood. Several years back I took my parent's collection of family photos and scanned a lot of them. I was glad to have access not only for the funny hairstyles, clothing and interior design choices but also to preserve my family's history and my childhood for our kids. The days of shooting a roll of film, getting it developed and holding them in your hand are all but gone. When we sit down to look at these photos with the girls it will be on a computer screen or more likely on whatever technology with be the big thing in their lifetime. Most likely olivia and I will drive them crazy having to teach us how to use it but I digress. Thankfully there are still some things I can literally hold onto from the past, namely my blanket and my favorite teddy bear.

The two bears I grew up with were Bear and Footbear. My mother, in all her infinite wisdom, held onto these stuffed animals knowing one day I would want them for my kids. Bear was a little worse for the wear and I didn't think he would be fit to serve. He took his place in teddy heaven. Footbear, whose name is very fitting as he is ALL feet, was passed on to Ruby. She can be rough on her stuffed playmates and I am perhaps overly protective of him but I trust as she ages she will learn to take better and better care of him. If not, we will have a problem...

Then...

and now.

The blanket was knitted for me by my Grammy. I remember taking it everywhere and being seriously attached to it. It stayed with me and as I got older and the running joke was that I would take it with me to college. The joke turned to reality, it stayed on my bed in my first apartment as well as the houses I rented in Tuscaloosa. Eventually it was retired and just stayed packed in a box and was moved from living space to living space.

Flash forward to Sailor's birth. We recently decided she was ready and gave it to her. This was, of course, after a serious cleaning by my Mom. It had been quite some time since it was properly washed and her years of experience as a mother laundering articles that are so loved and important...we thought she was the perfect choice to handle the task.

Then...

and now.